Work Text:
Tony gathered up everything Steve left in his lab. Every drawing. Every note. Every memory.
He made photocopies of the art, and sent the originals, as well as that damn phone back to Wakanda.
He couldn’t do it anymore.
He couldn’t live with all the memories of Steve everywhere. Always reminding him of what Steve did.
Steve fucking Rogers always thinking he was right all the time. Tony could remember all of Steve’s righteous speeches about working as a team and being a family. And at first it had been all Tony ever wanted. Steve’s words sounded like paradise- sounded like home.
But now, Tony realized, his words had been empty. When Steve had spoken of trust it was because he was paranoid. Paranoid to be caught with the truth of what happened to Tony’s parents. He cared about how he was perceived. Nothing more.
Tony was done.
He was erasing himself from Steve. Erasing himself from the Avengers. The press would have a field day, of course. But Tony didn’t care. Let them form their own speculations of what was the final blow that split Tony and Steve.
The final blow that broke Tony’s heart.
He cleared a spot in the middle of his lab and started a small fire.
The bots stood by with fire extinguishers.
He grabbed the letter. The notes. The drawings.
The letter went first.
He felt a calming feeling wash over him for just a moment. A different form of catharsis.
Next to burn were the notes.
Notes of encouragement. Notes to remind him of dates. Notes of love. All written by Steve. All burning.
Next were the drawings.
Tony dropped them one by one into the flames.
Drawings of Tony. Drawings of the bots. Of Tony. Of Tony. Of Tony. Of Tony. Of-
The last drawing fell to the flames.
No more letter. No more notes. No more drawings.
No more memories.
–
Thousands of miles away Steve was presented with a package. In the package he found the phone he sent to Tony. He found everything he had ever drawn for Tony.
He found a note.
‘You’ve torn it all apart.’